1st the engine has no torque at all, feels just like the old S54 with more HP. Lack of torque makes it annoying when you are pushing the car. (and i think most m3 owners want more torque especially if they owned a car with one before. Now if they tell you about the flat torque curve being better thats just a way to make M3 owners feel better)

It's true! I feel so "annoyed" making the engine work between 5-8.4k RPM when I'm pushing the car. It absolutely sucks : (

And that is simply why I love to rev my M3. The engine is so athletic. It's just a different feeling when you compare it to other performance cars. If you like to rev, the M3 is definitely for you.

Ofcourse, seems you could not sense the sarcasm in his post. The heart and aural assault of high-revving engines at full boil are only "annoying" to the non-purists and non-enthusiasts. That is what high-revving engines are all about. Entertaining all of your senses.

I have owned a few torquey low revving cars in the past with less than 7000 rpm redlines( including a 2001 Mustang GT V8 etc.) and in terms of sheer driving and sound excitement, high-revving screamers with fast piston speeds especially V8s nothing else measures up to it. That is what really draws me into high-revving engines and makes me forget it does not make mountains of torque down at 2000 rpm because they are so special where it truly counts. That is what makes me love the character and soul of F430s, LP560s, LP640s, Carrera GTs to name a few. Take out the high-revving masterpiece engines and I would not care about them over ZR-1s and GT-Rs etc.

You can never make a low revving car especially V8 sound this good. Part F1 car and part muscle car. Period.

Three weeks ago I traded my 08 evo x for an 08 e90 m3 sedan. During my test drive I knew right away that my evo was faster. My x had 350 whp and 339tq full catless tbe, intake and pro tune. The x was a blast to drive. On the other hand that was my dd and I got tired of shuttling my family around in it. I'm 30 years old and just felt I needed more refinement as well as performance. Not to mention the hawking eyes of the police everywhere I went. Overall I'm really happy with my decision and don't regret it at all. I will say this! I will purchase another evo one day though. The evo is just to raw, so if you what just truly raw performance go with evo. Good luck.

Three weeks ago I traded my 08 evo x for an 08 e90 m3 sedan. During my test drive I knew right away that my evo was faster. My x had 350 whp and 339tq full catless tbe, intake and pro tune. The x was a blast to drive. On the other hand that was my dd and I got tired of shuttling my family around in it. I'm 30 years old and just felt I needed more refinement as well as performance. Not to mention the hawking eyes of the police everywhere I went. Overall I'm really happy with my decision and don't regret it at all. I will say this! I will purchase another evo one day though. The evo is just to raw, so if you what just truly raw performance go with evo. Good luck.

I traded my 08 Evo X for an 08 BMW M3. The Evo X was faster, especially around corners. It was such a blast to drive on track, on twisty mountain roads and a lot more direct and much more feedback over the M3.

Why I traded it out was because I couldn't stand driving it on the highway. The 5 speed manual made the engine spin at 4k+ rpm constantly at any speed above 70mph. It was crazy noisy. Also, the point and shoot directness and road/engine feedback it gave was great on track but also pretty tiring in daily driving. I used to boast about eating M3s on track and it wasn't very hard at all. But all out track performance is not what the M3 is about. I wanted a more all around car. The M3 delivered.

I just sold my modded Evo X GSR to get an E92 M3, and am not regretting it one bit. Like what was said before, if you're interested in just pure balls out performance and pretty much nothing else, get the Evo. It's a great car that responds well to mods, is relatively cheap to make decent power, and it kills on the track. (search Ryan Gates Evo X for examples).

For posterity sake, I'll add some comments that might be helpful to those on the fence....

I owned an 07 STi that was basically stage 2+E85, some suspension and brake mods too, putting down 377whp/364wtrq. The car was a blast to drive. It handled well and sounded great. The sheer acceleration definitely surpassed that of the M3. I told myself that I didn't really care about the interior, the luxury and the prestige. After a while (108k miles), the ride was just too harsh, and the overall build quality was just so-so. I too was cross shopping an Evo X and an E92 M3. I test drove both and it was a clear win for the M3. The Evo just seemed so bland, nothing super special in stock form, and didn't really stir me like the STi or M3. The M3 is just....special. The build quality, well-rounded performance, looks, interior, prestige (if you're into that) sold me right away. Yes, if I were to mod the Evo I could make it into a beast like I did with the Sti. But it'll always rattle and never feel quite as solid or well-rounded as a daily driver and track car as the M3. For me, the selling point for of the M3 is that it's such a great balance of all the attributes an enthusiast would want in a car, plus the creature comforts as a DD.

I had an 09 STI stg2 for the past 3 years and no comparaison with my M3 , the M is so much a better everyday car , maybe a bit slower in tight turns but more fun drifting everywhere and a lot more confortable for me and my passengers ! No lag is a big + also !!

Evo > for all around track, less money to mod to make faster and believe it or not the Evo resale value is pretty strong (hard to find one under $15K) and the engine and transmission are proven to hold up well, I believe you can get close to 500hp on a stock motor before doing internal engine work. A solid track car but still not an M3.

Back from the dead! I need to get my post count up and as I currently have nothing to add to a decent current M3 thread - here we go...

I just started to build my Evo X and am cancelling the turbo kit and motor build tomorrow. Final test drive and papers coming soon but all signs point to me trading in my Evo for 2013 "Frozen" M3 Coupe... Yes all out balls out power is crazy fun, but sometimes you just need to grow up.